Global furniture chain.

IKEA is a Dutch-retailing giant that sells low-price products, including furniture, accessories, bathrooms and kitchens at 316 mammoth stores around the world including 37 in the USA. Stores range in size from 250,000-350,000 square feet. The stores are best known for selling shelves, tables and sofas. Much of the furniture is self-installed and offers a simple, clean design.

IKEA stores stock up to 10,000 items and feature everything for the home, all under one roof: sofas, beds, tables, chairs, textiles, kitchen utensils, flooring,rugs,kitchens,bathrooms,lamps,plants and more. Items are often displayed in room settings. Stores are so large they also include a restaurant which serve Swedish meatballs and more.

The IKEA Group is owned by a foundation,
Stichting INGKA Foundation , which is registered in the Netherlands.
The foundation owns INGKA Holding B.V. the parent company for
all IKEA Group companies - from the industrial group Swedwood
to the sales companies that own the stores in the various countries.
Inter IKEA Systems B.V., the owner of the IKEA concept and trademark,
has franchising agreements with every IKEA store in the world.
The IKEA Group is the biggest franchisee of Inter IKEA Systems
B.V.

IKEA said it has nearly 700 million visitors to its stores in 2010.

IKEA gave all of its U.S. workers a free bike in 2010.

History

1943 -
Ingvar Kamprad founded Ikea. When Ingvar was 17, his father gave
him a gift for succeeding in his studies. The gift was used to
establish his own business. The name IKEA was formed from the
founder's initials (I.K.) plus the first letters of Elmtaryd
and Agunnaryd, the farm and village where he grew up. IKEA originally
sold pens, wallets, picture frames, table runners, watches, jewellery
and nylon stockings - whatever Ingvar found a need for that he
could fill with a product at a reduced price.

1953 - The
furniture showroom is opened in Älmhult Sweden. The IKEA
range focused to home furnishing products in the early 1950s.
The opening of the showroom was an important moment in the development
of the IKEA concept. For the first time customers could see and
touch our furnishings before ordering. This came about as a solution
to a problem. IKEA found itself in a price war with its main
competitor. As both companies lowered prices, quality came at
risk. By opening the showroom, IKEA could in three dimensions
present its products with function, quality and low price. And
people did just what IKEA had hoped: they wisely chose the products
with the best value for the money.

1955 - IKEA
begins designing its own furniture. There were several reasons
for IKEA to start designing its own furniture. But what actually
led to this-possibly our best move ever-was quite ironic. Pressure
from our competitors caused suppliers to boycott IKEA. This reaction
to our early success required us to begin designing our own furniture,
and became the basis for future growth. Ultimately, this would
lead to innovative design and improved function at lower prices.
Then, by lucky inspiration, one early IKEA employee decided to
remove a table's legs so it would fit into a car, and to avoid
transport damage. From that point on, we began to think in terms
of design for flat packaging. Which led to even further reductions
in price for our customers. A pattern had begun to establish
itself at IKEA. Turning problems into opportunities.

1965 - The
IKEA store in Stockholm is opened. Thousands of people stood
in line for the opening of our flagship store. The 45,800 square
meter store has a circular design, inspired by New York's Guggenheim
Museum. The success created huge capacity problems in serving
the customers. By opening the warehouse and letting people serve
themselves, an important part of the IKEA concept was born.

1973 - The
first store outside Scandinavia is opened outside Zurich, Switzerland.
Its success paved the way for a quick expansion in Germany, which
is the largest IKEA market today.

1985 - The
first IKEA store opens in the USA in Philadelphia. At first,
the company wasn't sure the USA needed IKEA. But it soon discovered
there was a need everywhere for useful, attractive home furnishings
at prices for every wallet.